177

Elephant ivory Corpus Christi and ebony, Germany, 17th -18th century

Total weight: 630.4 g. Estimated ivory weight: 180 g

finely carved in the round and composed of three parts joined together: the body of Christ and the arms.

Separately, there is a scroll with the Titulus crucis INRI (Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudeorum, which literally translates as “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”), the title given to Christ according to the Gospel tradition, and ivory cross pieces. Jesus' body is stretched out in the drama of sacrifice, with the muscles of his torso and limbs sculpted with precision.

His nailed hands convey a sense of pain and resignation, while his head falls to the left side with his mouth open and his eyes open and suffering, turned towards the sky, thus evoking his last breath and sealing a moment of intense spirituality.

On top of his head is a particular crown, a radiant nimbus, that is, a sort of circular halo composed of pointed rays.

The soft, curly hair and beard fall over his shoulders, framing his face. The torso, sculpted with dynamic tension, clearly shows the contracted abdominal muscles, while the legs reveal the tension of the figure, drawing the eye to the feet, which are superimposed and nailed with a single nail.

The loincloth is not large, showing a cord tied at the right hip and soft, slightly ruffled drapery surrounding it.

Christ rests on an ebony cross placed on a triangular stepped base, resting on ivory feet. The cross has crosspieces also made of elephant ivory.

Total height x width: 56 x 21.8 cm

Base side: 16 cm

Height x width Christ: 23 x 18.5 cm

Height feet/arms: 24 cm

Height x width INRI cartouche: 2.1 x 3.6 cm

Height x width crossroads: 0.95 x 2.7 cm

Height x width of base triangle 0.3 x 3 cm

Height x width feet: 0.8 x 3 cm